FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE REVIEW: On Friday, I saw “Let There Be Light,” which stars Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys [TV series], What If…), Sam Sorbo (Andromeda [TV series], Alongside Night), Daniel Roebuck (The Fugitive [1993], Lost [TV series]), Donielle Artese (You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, One Night at McCool’s), Gary Grubbs (The X-Files [TV series], The Astronaut’s Wife), Braeden Sorbo, Shane Sorbo, and Sean Hannity (Hannity [TV series], The Seige). It was directed by Kevin Sorbo, while the screenplay was written by Sam Sorbo and Dan Gordon (Wyatt Earp [1994], The Hurricane). Dr. Sol Harkens (Sorbo) is a world-renowned atheist whose life is flipped upside down when he has a near-death experience, causing him to convert to Christianity and try to repair his broken life.

Kevin Sorbo is essentially the Tom Cruise of Christian films; at least that’s what I can deduce from his extensive profile. People I know have told me of his star status and how he is one of the few actors who can actually perform well in Christian flicks. Now we come to “Let There Be Light,” a Sorbo production where every aspect of the filming process is filled by a Sorbo. Kevin’s wife, Sam Sorbo, wrote and acted in the picture, while their kids portrayed the children (and rather weirdly, if I might add). It’s a family feature in the literal sense and what we got was…well…terrible. There’s often a unanimous opinion of these kind of films in the Christian community: they suck. No offense to the people who made them; most of the time they are upstanding Christians who are trying to display God’s morals in a good light (other times it’s just Hollywood trying to make an easy buck with the demographic). However, more times than not their products fall flat of achieving anything great. We get the lessons, but they’re easy to understand, and the story ends up becoming predictable, bland, and even horribly acted. That’s the unfortunate case of “Let There Be Light.” The acting is atrocious, the characters are one-dimensional, the cinematography is amateur, and the story is easily predictable as it is hilarious (in a bad way). It’s a shame considering the flick’s approach. The plot is of an atheist finding Christ when he has a near-death experience, a story that has been done before and is seemingly stolen from the backstory of Paul. Even the main character’s name is Sol (pronounced Saul), and the only unpredictable thing of the feature is how he never changed his name after his conversion. Throughout the picture, we are constantly bombarded with this theme of how following Christ is the right way in life; this is a solid message that should come as binary to any Christian. But, for those you want to convert or reveal truth to, you need to present this theme gently, perhaps in a slow unravel. In “Let There Be Light,” there is a clear visual of good and evil. Saul is bad and what he is doing is bad. What he says is bad and he ends up suffering consequences. His character as well as the rest are so one-dimensional that it doesn’t offer the viewer much to think about. The writing leans towards those who already know atheism is the wrong path, therefore anybody who is one in the film is aggressive and idiotic. Their dialogue is severely sophomoric and simple, with Saul’s tagline for his life being “party on.” He has followers who read his books, but from the crowd that praised him I couldn’t understand how any of them (even without accepting Christ) would agree to an “all-party” lifestyle. Most of them looked like blue-collared workers, not wasted teenagers. Consider it a bad choice in finding extras, but I prefer bad choice in writing. How can we reveal the glorious ways of Christ to those who don’t know/believe if we mark them as idiots in the film? Sure, they are foolish to not believe, but with filmmaking such as this (especially in terms of aesthetics), you won’t have anyone sway. This poor filmmaking also makes for a terrible viewing experience for Christians. There isn’t any substance in this flick to further our faith, let alone entertain us. Many of the deep, serious, and emotional sequences that play out in this come off as boring or hilarious due to the writing and execution. Some examples include when Sol sees his son in the afterlife, and when he remarries his wife (to Dionne Warwick singing). My family could agree on this, who sat down together to enjoy a family movie night; too bad it was soiled. I hate to cut down Christian films. I know they mean well, but how are we supposed to appreciate poor filmmaking? All around, this feature under-performed. The plot itself spiraled down in an odd direction, ending with an unsatisfying finisher that should’ve been the beginning of the movie instead. It would’ve made for a more gripping and impactful tale rather than the one we got (if you wanna know the ending, read below the trailer). Overall, I was disappointed by “Let There Be Light,” however this doesn’t surprise me. If you want an impactful Christian film, please look somewhere else. FINAL SCORE: 43%= Burnt Popcorn

Here is the trailer:

SPOILERS: In the end, Sol’s wife passes away due to a spontaneous cancer she developed. It was a rather weird way to finish due to the fact that Sol’s faith came from seeing his boy in heaven, and how he was questioned if he could continue in his walk if his wife died too. This question was never answered, as the last shots consisted of Sol’s wife dying and his sons using their phone lights to cast out the dark (for some weird event they were doing). I would’ve loved to see a movie where a man who came into the faith after getting over the grief of his dead son has to be tested with the formidable future of his wife who contracts cancer. What do you think?